Ayurveda Explores Into the Mysteries of Life

We take our body for granted.
This existence as a human being for granted.
Never bother to think about so many of the mysteries associated with it.
So many of the questions associated with it.

Modern health sciences — they have oversimplified the birth of a child.
The ovum and sperm unite inside the uterus, become a foetus.
The foetus undergoes a period of pregnancy and then it comes out into the world.

But,

At the time of insemination, there are millions of sperms reaching the woman’s body.
Only one among them unites with the ovum.
There is normally one ovum and 100 million sperms.
Why this disparity?
Are all the sperms identical?
Who picks that one sperm which unites with the ovum?
Is it arbitrary or is it pre-decided?
Do all the sperms carry the same kama?
Instead of sperm X, if sperm Y had fertilized the egg, would the life experience of the person be different?

Is a mere union of an ovum and a sperm sufficient?
In that case, why is it that every single person has a completely different life experience?
So, other than the ovum and the sperm, and whatever they carry inside them as DNA prints or whatever,
Is there a third component that is external — neither attached to the ovum, nor the sperm?
Is there a third component which plays a role in this whole process?

The character, mental make-up, behaviour, sense of righteousness, sense of justice — are they solely decided by the genes of the mother and the father, and also the environment in which the child grows up?

If we know the nature of the parents, can we predict the nature of the child?
Is there a reason that the particular child is born?
Is this body a mere vehicle and there is something else that is occupying it, which is not visible to us?
Or is it just the body and the mind?
Other than body and the mind, is there anything else which is at the core of this body?

If there is such a thing — an occupant different from the vehicle —
Where is it coming from? Where is it going to?
Where was it before it came and occupied this body?
Where is it going after it leaves this body?

This is the question — we are not yet saying for sure that the occupant is different from the vehicle,
Or that there is an occupant at all.
Science will not accept this.
Health science would say — there are diseases that come from the parents,
There are diseases that come because of misuse of the body,
There are diseases that come because of the environment that the body is in.

Other than these, can there be any other reason for becoming sick?

There are many people around you.
In which way are you connected to them?
Your parents — you can say there is a blood relationship.
Your body itself has come from them.
Your neighbours — are you connected to them in any way?

Is there any force that takes decisions and drives the world the way it is going on now?
Is there an intelligence which is in command?

There are so many of these questions, these mysteries.

Ayurveda is not just a branch of medicine.
Ayurveda has developed from these questions.
Acharyas of Ayurveda have approached these questions in their own way,
Tried to arrive at answers, and then developed the system called Ayurveda.

Ayurveda is not just chikitsa shastra.
It is not just about diseases and how to cure them.
It is not just anatomy and physiology.
It is not just pathology and pathogens.
It is a philosophy.

We will try to explore some of these aspects of Ayurveda as we proceed.
We will not go into diseases, remedies, medicines.
Doctors have to do that.
Our effort will be about the philosophy of Ayurveda.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi